Te Atatu Peninsula: Future proof

Catherine Foster discovers the house you could control from your car on the way home from work.

8 Kawai Rise, Waimanu Bay, Te Atatu Peninsula. Washed by reflections from the pool indoors and the sea outside, this house has ambience, but it also has brains. It is smart wired for the future. The new owner will be able, by adding functionality, to access pool and air-conditioner settings, alarms and even curtains from the motorway on the way home, via telephone technology.

By the time you drive into the fully tiled garage, the house will be ready and waiting. You could take the lift up to the living room on the first floor to relax into the view, or dive into the speed-heated pool and work out against an inbuilt "current".

Developer Mark Thompson has built this house of the future on a gentle north east facing slope in an area he believes is up and coming - Te Atatu Peninsula. The views from here are stunning, splaying across the Waitemata to the city which looks as gorgeous at night as during the day. Once thought of a modest backwater, the peninsula now sports a huge range of improvements to accompany the newly built, and still developing, subdivisions that ring its edges. The Auckland Regional Transport Authority is in the process of investigating the feasibility of a ferry link with the city as part of an overall passenger network plan for the greater Auckland area, and work is proceeding apace on designated bus lanes along the causeway of the North Western motorway. These improving transport links, along with newly developed parks and walkways on the harbour edge are all part of the fast growing range of local amenities that the peninsula has to offer.

Mark Thompson's house is in one of the area's new subdivisions. From the outside the house blends in with other Mediterranean-inspired designs nearby, but it is built of something quite different. The German aerated concrete block system has become well known in New Zealand only in the last decade after fifty years of wide-spread use in Europe. It has the thermal efficiencies and acoustic qualities of a premium product. When combined with a thoughtful design that offers a flexible floor plan for either the family that loves to entertain while keeping its teenagers at a mutually respectful distance, or the work from home empty nester who looks for an easy care premium property in an area that offers significant future capital gain, this is a home with many hidden attractions.

As you'd expect from a smart house, every room is wired for internet access, and the living spaces for high tech mod cons such as plasma television.

The three luxurious bathrooms have high quality European fixtures and fittings, and the kitchen is an entertainer's delight.

Even the uncertainties of Auckland's weather have been taken care of by a state of the art heating and air-conditioning system - invisible except for the small vents in the corners of the spacious rooms.

Vital Statistics

SIZE: Land, 687sq m, house 380sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: $1.4 million.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 11am-noon, Wed 7-7.30pm, or by appointment.

CONTACT: John Dove, Ray White, ph 021 564 663 mob, 846 9184 bus.

FEATURES: High-tech house with views across the harbour to the city. Heated indoor pool with controllable "current". High quality aerated concrete block construction for thermal and acoustic efficiency, enhanced by state of the art heating and air conditioning. Future proofed for technology.